Effect of night work on image quality of optical coherence tomography angiography

To assess the effect of night shift work on image quality and artifacts when performing optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A).

In a prospective case series study, twenty nurses underwent OCT-A in two separate sessions: early in the morning before duty shift and at the end of a night shift. Quantitative measurements of horizontal and vertical saccadic, blink, and stretch artifacts and also signal strength of the images were recorded. Moreover, using visual analogue scale of pain (VAS), the perceived pain and discomfort by blue focus light and red scanning laser were recorded.

Vertical and horizontal saccades, blink, and stretch artifacts were significantly higher after the night shift (P = 0.004, P = 0.015, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). Signal strength was not significantly different between the two measurements (P = 0.71). Also, the level of discomfort which was experienced by blue focus light and red scanning laser light was significantly higher after the night shift (P = 0.009 and P = 0.004, respectively).

Our study suggests that night shift may affect image quality of OCT-A by imposing more artifacts.